PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Trading 6.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) rose 6.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $68.89 and last traded at $70.6350. 627,381 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 3,317,398 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of PBF Energy from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PBF Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $62.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $50.92.

PBF Energy Stock Down 1.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.07, a PEG ratio of 0.08 and a beta of 0.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.15 by $2.07. The business had revenue of $11.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.61 billion. PBF Energy had a net margin of 3.94% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.03) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that PBF Energy Inc. will post 15.74 EPS for the current year.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. PBF Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.73%.

Insider Transactions at PBF Energy

In other news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 120,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.79, for a total value of $8,974,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,285,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,068,404,841.63. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Paul T. Davis sold 63,295 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $4,455,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 183,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,913,190.40. This trade represents a 25.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,163,674 shares of company stock valued at $371,707,094. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in PBF Energy by 127.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,327,255 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $171,595,000 after buying an additional 3,550,820 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 4,932.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,096,920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $232,012,000 after acquiring an additional 4,995,638 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in PBF Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,854,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $131,661,000 after acquiring an additional 60,294 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in PBF Energy by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,366,331 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $207,953,000 after purchasing an additional 454,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in PBF Energy by 54.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,222,433 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $153,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137,533 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

About PBF Energy

PBF Energy, Inc is an independent petroleum refiner organized in 2008 and headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2012 under the ticker symbol PBF. Since its formation, PBF Energy has grown through acquisitions and operational optimization, positioning itself as a leading supplier of refined petroleum products in the United States.

The company owns and operates five refineries located along the U.S. Gulf Coast, East Coast and in the Pacific Northwest, with a combined crude oil processing capacity of approximately 900,000 barrels per day.